Conor Oberst says rape accusations cost him a record deal (updated)

Last December, a woman posting in the comments section at the online magazine xoJane claimed that in 2003, when she was 16, Bright Eyes frontman Conor Oberst raped her following a show in North Carolina. Oberst denied the accusations and claimed that the woman, Joanie Faircloth, was a serial liar and, according to an article by Jezebel, had a history of “catfishing” online, at one point claiming falsely to be suffering from cancer.

Back in February, Oberst filed a defamation suit against Faircloth for $1.2 million in damages, and he says that so far she hasn’t even shown up for their court hearings. According to TMZ, he’s asking a judge to rule in his favor and award him the money. Oberst claims that the accusations have damaged his record sales as well as his reputation, and led to the cancellation of a $200,000 label contract.

Update: According to his publicist, Oberst has not been dropped by his label and his libel suit against Faircloth makes no claim that he was.